Echovirus 1 (EV1) is a human pathogen which belongs to the Picornaviridae family of RNA viruses. We have analyzed the early events of infection after EV1 binding to its receptor alpha 2 beta 1 integrin and elucidated the route by which EV1 gains access to the host cell. EV1 binding onto the cell surface and subsequent entry resulted in conformational changes of the viral capsid as demonstrated ...

Enteroviruses are recognized as important pathogens in pediatric patients; however, they are often overlooked as etiologic agents of disease in adults. Here, we report a case of echovirus 18-associated severe systemic infection and acute liver failure in an adult hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipient. Additionally, we illustrate the utility of molecular methods for the detection and typi...

The set of viable design elements available for animals to use in building skeletons has been fully exploited. Analysis of animal skeletons in relation to the multivariate, theoretical "Skeleton Space" has shown that a large proportion of these options are used in each phylum. Here, we show that structural elements deployed in the skeletons of Burgess Shale animals (Middle Cambrian) incorporate...

background viral meningitis is an inflammation of the leptomeninges as a manifestation of central nervous system (cns) infection. more than 85% of viral meningitis cases are caused by non-polio enteroviruses. this is the first study on the description of the enteroviruses and the related serotypes involved in viral meningitis in iran. objectives this project was conducted to improve our knowled...

The glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchored complement regulatory protein decay-accelerating factor (DAF) is used by a number of enteroviruses as a receptor during infection. DAF and other GPI-anchored proteins can be found in cholesterol-rich ordered domains within the plasma membrane that are known as "lipid rafts." We have shown, by using drugs to specifically inhibit various endocytosis...

We discuss the impact of the soft degrees of freedom inside the Bc meson on its rate in the semi-leptonic decay Bc → X`ν̄` where X denotes light hadrons below the D0 threshold. In particular we identify contributions involving soft hadrons which are non-vanishing in the limit of massless leptons. These contributions become relevant for a measurement of the purely leptonic Bc decay rate, which du...